Referral Processesfor Health Professionals

Referral Processesfor Health Professionals

Fact Sheet (Victoria only)

Referring older people to aged care services in Victoria

This fact sheet providesHealth Professionalsin Victoria with information to assist in referring older patients (aged 65 years and over and 50 years and over for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people) to aged care services. These specific arrangements apply inVictoria only.

How do clients access aged care services?

An independent and holistic assessment of an older person’s needs is required prior to the commencement of aged care services.

Health professionals are strongly encouraged to use the health professional webform when referring clients that do not have urgent needs or do not solely require Commonwealth Home Support Programme (CHSP) nursing or allied health services. The health professional webform can be accessed via myagedcare.gov.au/referral. Support materials for using the webform, including a videoand fact sheets, are available on the Department’s webpage.

Referrals can also be made by calling the My Aged Care contact centre on 1800200422 or by fax through to My Aged Care on 1800728174.

Can I refer my patient direct to nursing and allied health services?

Yes. In Victoria, where a client only requires CHSP nursing or allied health or both of theseservices the existing direct to service referral process will continue until 30June 2017.

These direct to service arrangements for clients who require only CHSP nursing or allied health services in Victoria are intended to provide a phased transition of existing direct to service referral processes to the national My Aged Care model. During the 12 month transition period DoH and DHHS will work together to understand the impact of this direct to service referral pathway for My Aged Care and for these cohorts. The result of this work will inform broader discussion about referral pathways which may modify/further develop the national model.

For the period 1 July 2016 to 30 June 2017, this means that clients requiring only CHSP nursing or allied health services or both of these services may be referred directly to those services without undergoing an assessment by a Victorian Regional Assessment Service (Victorian RAS).

Where these clients are identified by the CHSP allied health and/or nursing service(s) as needing other aged care services, these clients will need to be referred to the My Aged Care contact centre for a referral for a holistic assessment of need as appropriate.

Can clients be referred for urgent services?

While an assessment of a client’s need is required in order for the client to access aged care services, the Department also acknowledges that there are specific circumstances where patients will need to be referred directly to a service provider. Health Professionals can seek to refer a client directly to a service provider in circumstances where:

• there is an urgent need for a service based on the client’s circumstances which, if not met immediately, may place the client at risk; and
• the services where this is likely to happen are: nursing, personal care, meals and transport.

These services would be of a time-limited duration (i.e. 2 weeks) with a longer-term commitment only occurring after assessment.

What referral processes apply for urgent needs?

The preferred process to refer clients with urgent needs to aged care services is by contacting the service provider directly. The service provider will, if able, provide urgent care for the client and subsequently refer the client to My Aged Care for an assessment of ongoing service needs.

Referrers can also call the My Aged Care contact centre on 1800200422 to refer these clients to services. The contact centre can make an electronic referral to these services as well as concurrently referring the clientfor an assessment.

Note that acceptance of the referral for urgent care will be based on the service provider’s capacity to take on new clients and the relative needs of clients awaiting services.

Where can I find more information?

You can find further information about the Victorian HACC transition to My Aged Care on the Victorian HACC transition webpage. For more information about My Aged Care please visit myagedcare.gov.au.